Do you ever feel like you scrapbook just about others and never about yourself? It can be a challenge just to get yourself in front of the camera, so scrapbooking about yourself is probably at the bottom of your list. But making an All About Me scrapbook album is important and if you haven’t started one yet, you should start now.
Creating an All About Me album has been on my to-do list for a very long time. I’ve thought of layouts, but I have only made a couple. I spend most of my time scrapbooking about my family, my daughter, my dog, and everyone else… except me! I never set aside the time to scrapbook about myself. I want to tell not just my family’s stories, but also stories about me.
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Sometimes I feel like I’m not sure what to scrapbook about myself, but I know that it’s important to document my stories. I want you to join me to create an All About Me album and spend time scrapbooking about yourself. Let go of any hesitation you have about making layouts about yourself. You should create an album about you because no one else will. Your All About Me album isn’t just another scrapbook and I want to tell you why it’s important. I’ve also created a list of 25 Ideas to Start Your All About Me scrapbook that you can find at the end of this post.
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Make an All About Me album to Give to Your Family
Creating an All About Me album is something that your family will cherish for years to come. Think about all the questions you want to ask your grandma or mom. What was life like, how did you feel about certain topics, and what was it like to be alive during a certain event in history.
I know I have hundreds of questions for my family. I get little peeks into their life, but sometimes it’s hard to get them to really talk about their thoughts and opinions from that time. Maybe they don’t remember or it’s not something significant in their life. We always know what we would ask our family, but what would your family ask you? If you aren’t sure where to start you can use my list of 25 Ideas to Start Your All About Me Scrapbook. It’s included in my free resource library that you can get the password for at the bottom of this post.
Recently my mom’s good friend sent me a package that included letters my mom had written in the 1980s. They both had been living far apart and wrote to each other. My mom’s friend thought I would enjoy reading my mom’s letters and she was right! Even my mom didn’t remember some of the things she wrote off the top of her head. It was a snapshot into my mom’s life, thoughts, and opinions and I loved looking through them.
Making an album that documents your personal thoughts and opinions will be the memories that your children and grandchildren are looking for. Just like with my mom, as time goes on, our memories fade and only certain events stand out. Your family will learn who you are from this time in your life even when you might not remember.
A great class that has been recommended to me is Cathy Zielske’s “Me: The Abridged Version” that guides you to create a Project Life album about yourself from A to Z.
Make an All About Me album for Your Own Personal Growth
There is a trending movement among scrapbookers right now who are documenting about themselves for the intent of personal growth. They are creating albums to get their thoughts down on paper and out of their head. Many are also using it as a way to help them through a hard time in their life.
An All About Me album doesn’t have to be shared with others. You can keep it to yourself as a personal journal. You can use a structured plan for writing or treat it like an open book. These women are diving deep into their thoughts and feelings over a longer period of time to help change their life.
Some are doing it through the guidance of a project like One Little Word with Ali Edwards that takes you through a year of living by one word instead of creating New Year’s resolutions. Some are creating an All About Me album to gain confidence in themselves, like Laura Rahel’s course “Hello Gorgeous”. Others are using it as a method to get themselves out of a depression or after a personal loss. No matter what course they are following, they are doing it with the intent of self-improvement.
Make an All About Me album to Practice Scrapbooking Techniques
You can give your All About Me albums another purpose while documenting stories about yourself. Use it to try new scrapbooking techniques. I don’t know about you, but I tend to hold back on some of the scrapbooking techniques and mixed media because I’m afraid to ruin layouts. You can treat your All About Me album as a “worry free” zone to test out these techniques.
You can try those new fun stamps, embossing powders, paints, watercolors, and mixed media creations in this album. Make your All About Me an exploration of the art side of scrapbooking and it may help you find a new technique that you love!
Maybe that means using a Traveler’s Notebook, 6×8 album, or pocket scrapbook instead of a traditional 12×12 scrapbook. If you are thinking digital, you can practice your app scrapbooking or Photoshop scrapbooking on layouts about yourself. Find some free digital elements to see if you like the look and feel of digital scrapbooking before you invest money on digital products to create a family album.
You can also use this All About Me as a place to work on your photography. Why not practice with some self-portrait photography using your camera or even your SmartPhone. Tabitha Park, a creator on SkillShare, has a quick 30-minute course about taking self-portraits and telling your own story. You can take her course and as many others as you want on SkillShare by signing up for a FREE trial of their Premium membership.
Whatever methods you want to try, go for it in your own album. It’s all about you and the things you want to explore, write, and get down on paper.
Getting Started to Make an All About Me album
Now it’s time to get started, but where should you begin? As Becky Higgins, scrapbooking guru, says all the time – “Begin with the end in mind.” Give yourself a little bit of an outline or prompt. Decide on how you want to create your All About Me album. Where do you want to store them? How will you create these layouts? Will you follow a course? What questions do you want to answer? The options are endless.
Want some help with planning your All About Me album? I’ve created a mini planner to help you make any scrapbook album! Plus I’ve also created a list of 25 ideas to get you started with an “All About Me” scrapbook album. You can get both of these by accessing my free resource library.
No matter how you decide to create your All About Me scrapbook, I want you to start with at least one layout the next time you sit down to scrapbook. Your thoughts and opinions matter just as much as your memories. This album will include the answers to the questions your children and grandchildren will ask you in years to come. It will be a reflection of who you are at different stages in your life. It will be your space to create without worry.
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Let me know in the comments if you have created an All About Me album or layout. I would love to hear about your projects!
Julie
Kim says
This is a really great idea, Julie. I’ve been trying to get my parents to do something like this but it never occurred to me to do it for myself. Your blog is looking good!
Julie says
Kim – thanks for stopping by and seeing what I’ve been up to! I love seeing your updates on Facebook! You should try to write things down yourself, but maybe as you are doing it, you can also bring your parents into the conversation and find out more about them to document. We’ve got to pass down all those family memories for years to come!